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HARTFORD, Conn. — French Cleaners, a member of the Hartford business community for more than a century, recently offered its customers a chance to win a free year of dry cleaning. Customers were invited to enter the month-long contest by providing a current e-mail address, and the promotion garnered more than 2,200 entries.

A longtime French Cleaners customer was randomly chosen to draw the winning entries on April 10. Vanessa Barneschi of West Hartford won the grand prize, a year’s worth of dry cleaning valued at $100 a month. Runner-up was Jennifer Chase, also of West Hartford, who will receive a year’s worth of dry cleaning valued at $50 a month.

“It was a really fun contest and brought a lot of positive feedback from our clients,” says Phil Cote, French Cleaners president.

CANCUN, Mexico — When was the last time you shared ideas with industry peers on how to make your dry cleaning business more efficient, expand your customer base, or boost your bottom line?

More than 100 dry cleaning professionals traveled to a Cancun resort in January to exchange best practices during a joint conference sponsored by the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) and the National Cleaners Association (NCA).

Brian Johnson, DLI’s director of education and analysis, called Secrets The Vine resort a “fantastic venue.” Attendees learned each other’s business secrets at daily, three-hour seminars. For example, motivational speaker and author Jack Mitchell discussed his “Hug Your Customers” philosophy that helps his business operating men’s and women’s specialty stores to thrive.

“His methods were fascinating,” says Johnson, explaining that “hugs” are unexpected gestures like placing a birthday card in a customer’s suit pocket.

CLIFTON, Va. — Crest Cleaners has become the first North American dry cleaner to install an ultra-low-water bead cleaning system marketed by Xeros Inc., a subsidiary of UK-based Xeros Ltd. Overall, it is Xeros’ third U.S. installation since first entering the market last September.

Historically, items that are not dry cleaned, such as men’s dress shirts, are laundered in traditional washing machines. Xeros’ proprietary system looks to replace those machines by producing “cleaner laundry with a significantly lower impact on the environment, using very little water and patented Xeros polymer beads,” the company says.

The beads’ molecular structure, coupled with a proprietary detergent, attracts and absorbs dirt from soiled items, the company says. It claims the system uses up to 80% less water, 50% less energy and 50% less detergent than conventional washing.

NEW YORK — Beginning next February, New York City dry cleaners will be required to disclose to consumers the primary chemicals used in their dry cleaning process, says the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

About 1,400 dry cleaning businesses throughout the Big Apple will be required to list the chemicals and a link to information about their health effects, so that consumers can access their potential impact.

DEP will work with affected businesses over the next year to implement the new rule ahead of the enforcement date.

“The local dry cleaner is an essential part of life for most New Yorkers, and it is important that information about all the chemicals used by these businesses is available,” says DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland. “At virtually no cost to businesses, this rule will ensure that this important public health information is available to the public.”

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The MidAtlantic Association of Cleaners (MAC) recently held its Winter Board and Annual Meetings here, approving bylaw changes to streamline board functions and electing 2013 association officers, board members and committee members.

Officers for this year include President Ben Johnson (Americlean), Vice President Jamie Albano (Albano Cleaners), Treasurer Russell Kaplan (ZIPS) and Chair Dianne Chatelain (Presto Valet).

Elected to the Board of Directors were Michael McKay (Dryclean and Shirt Salon), Maryland; Patrick Dunlap (Classicleaners), District of Columbia; Buddy Gritz (Presto Valet) and Tammy Johnson (Americlean), Virginia; Charley Young (Peter Pan Cleaners) and Telly Svingos (Victors Cleaners & Launderers), West Virginia; and Tom McAllister (Kreussler Chemical), Jack Belluscio (Caled Chemical) and James Just (R.R. Street & Co.), representing the allied trades.

Committee members for 2013 include Tom Williams (Suffolk Quality Cleaners), Sally Veach (Fresh Dry Cleaners & Laundry), James Crowder (Edmondson’s Cleaners) and Dan Criswell (Prince George Cleaners).

LONG BEACH, Calif. — It was a Sunday morning, so it was fitting that dry cleaning industry veteran Michael Nesbit would open his Fabricare educational seminar with a Bible verse.

Quoting James 3:1, he said, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

“That means, first of all, when I look in the room here, there’s a lot of guys a lot better in the industry than I am,” he says. “And I’m humbled to be here.”

Nesbit, who heads Houston-based MW Cleaners, the dry cleaning division of The Men’s Wearhouse®, had a great deal of insight to offer based on years of hard work and industry success.

“I want to tell you that the industry’s not dead,” he says. “There is still a lot of opportunity in what we do.”

And so he began discussing The Changing of the Tide.

OXFORD, Miss. — Herron Rowland really didn’t want to sell the corner location his Rainbow Cleaners occupied. For months he politely declined the inquiries of a real estate developer representing a major drug store chain. The chain kept looking for a suitable site in Oxford but always came back to Rainbow’s corner. Eventually, Rowland agreed to sell the property and relocate his business.

He promptly set into motion a plan to build a better plant. Having seen his business operate out of what once had been a steakhouse, Rowland was excited to take advantage of the opportunity to build new.

He invested in excess of $1 million to design and develop a 5,000-square-foot “building that’s purpose was to function as a dry cleaning operation.” That high-visibility plant, located just seven blocks from Rainbow’s previous location, earned the Grand Prize for Best Plant Design in the 52nd Annual American Drycleaner Plant Design Awards.

CHICAGO — American Drycleaner has learned of the recent deaths of two prominent leaders in the dry cleaning community:

Frank F. Filling Jr. — Died Nov. 10, 2012

Frank F. Filling Jr., 94, of Landis Homes, formerly of Lancaster, Pa., died Nov. 10 surrounded by family.

Filling was the retired president of Filling’s Inc. Drycleaning, Men’s and Ladies Stores. He retired in 1987 after 53 years with the Filling Corp.

Filling once served as the president of the Central Pennsylvania Drycleaners Guild and the Pennsylvania Association of Professional Dry Cleaners. He was elected to the International Fabricare Institute’s Board of Directors and was instrumental in the formation of the Institute’s school in Maryland.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mabel “Mae,” in 1999. He is survived by a son, daughter, two brothers, two sisters, and three grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, Lancaster, or the Millersville VFW Post 7294, 219 Walnut Hill Rd., Millersville, PA 17551.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — Donna R. Boyd, owner of Tip Top Cleaners, Chambersburg, Pa., is being honored as a 2012/2013 NAPW Professional Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional Women, a 400,000-member organization dedicated to helping women develop innovative business and social relationships.

Boyd’s Tip Top Cleaners specializes in expert, affordable dry cleaning and laundry services for the residents living in Pennsylvania’s Franklin County. She has built a reputation for consistently offering convenience, quality, and personal service, NAPW says.

Tip Top Cleaners also offers specialized cleaning of leather and suede, plus preservation of bridal gowns. Besides her work at Tip Top, Boyd is active in the Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce and local charity organizations.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Financial information company Sageworks reports that privately owned dry cleaners and launderers anticipating higher costs for hangers due to anti-dumping tariffs are either not yet seeing a major impact or are somehow offsetting the additional costs, based on preliminary analysis.

Trade rulings this summer regarding steel wire hangers made in Vietnam as well as similar tariffs on hangers made in Taiwan could push hanger costs higher.

“Whatever may happen to their costs going forward, our data doesn’t show that increasing costs have been much of a problem for private dry cleaners or laundry services in the past few years,” says Sageworks analyst Libby Bierman. “Profit margins have been increasing or at least holding steady for the past few years.”

There has been an emphasis on recycling programs to help alleviate cleaners’ hanger expenses. For example, members of the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute have reportedly recycled 25 million hangers.

CHICAGO — The new fall fashions sometimes signals styles that present processing challenges for dry cleaners. American Drycleaner has identified four new styles that could be troublesome, but half of respondents to this month’s Wire survey say none of them will challenge a skilled cleaner.

Those polled were asked which of the following will present the biggest challenge:

• Patterned (head-to-toe graphic prints)
• Fur (real and faux fur)
• Baroque (lace and sheers; gold brocade and embroidery; accents such as metal sequins and glass prisms)
• Oversized (asymmetrical capes, “statement” coats, “drop-crotch” pants)

After the 50% who don’t fear one fashion style in the bunch, 27.8% believe baroque fashions present the biggest challenge. Approximately 11% pointed to fur, and another 11.1% said they didn’t know. No one who took the unscientific survey believed that patterned or oversized fashions would present the biggest challenge.

HOUSTON — Harris County (Texas) Attorney Vince Ryan reports that his office has reached a $2.175 million settlement in a case against owners of a shuttered dry cleaning facility here for chemical contamination of groundwater.

The lawsuit accused Redonda Properties and Seven BC, doing business as San Felipe Joint Venture, SF Properties, and PMSV River Oaks, L.P. of allowing dry cleaning solvents to contaminate the soil and groundwater under and near the former Hallmark Dry Cleaners on San Felipe Road in the River Oaks area of Houston.

According to the lawsuit, the area is contaminated with perchloroethelyne (perc).

The pending judgment is for the largest sum ever in favor of a Texas county against owners and operators of a dry cleaner, Ryan says. Money from the settlement will be divided equally between Harris County and the State of Texas. Notice of the proposed settlement was published Oct. 19 in the Texas Register. The public has 30 days from the date of publication to submit written comments.